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Today, on Women's Day, I must thank women. Many of them, who are here with us today, have given us space and a voice. I must also thank the women who are not with us today, who have lost their lives, who have been imprisoned, who have protested, who have fought, so that we are here today to continue what they have begun.
The fact is that at the global level, full and effective gender equality is an increasingly distant goal, as women's rights continue to be violated in all areas of life, both internationally and in Europe.
Global economic crises and challenges, such as the war in the Middle East, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic, have further highlighted gender inequalities. At the same time, the climate and energy crisis seems to affect women differently and disproportionately from men. European countries are, nevertheless, the best performers in the world in terms of gender equality.
Our country is no exception in terms of the differential impact on women and men of the aforementioned crises.
Despite the steps taken in the right direction, Cyprus is ranked 21st out of the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU).
Despite the steps taken in the right direction, Cyprus is ranked 21st out of the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU). Our country's ranking in various indicators motivates us to try even harder to accelerate the promotion of gender equality. However, we are not waiting for our country's ranking in indicators and surveys in order to proceed and implement the obvious.
Our accession to the European Union has played a very important role in promoting gender equality in our country.
The harmonisation of national legislation with European legislation has ensured many rights for women and significantly improved the position of women in society. It has always been my conviction that legislation regulates and shapes cultures and attitudes.
However, legislation alone will not achieve the desired result if we do not work in parallel on systematic information aimed at breaking down the stereotypes, attitudes and perceptions that result in the perpetuation of gender inequalities that perpetuate the deep-rooted system of patriarchy.
Our aim is to integrate the horizontal gender dimension into political actions and measures of the state, so that the different needs of women and men are taken into account in their design and evaluation and a culture of gender equality is established.
Translating words into deeds we have already started the effort, through the implementation of a holistic approach to gender mainstreaming, as derived firstly from the Governance Programme and subsequently from the National Strategy for Gender Equality 2024-2026. The Strategy is the main policy document on gender equality and is the guideline for all stakeholders and state policies.
It is important to mention that in preparing the new National Strategy for Gender Equality we followed a participatory and democratic approach.
The Strategy, as a methodology followed by the President of the Republic himself, is the result of an open dialogue between the Government on the one hand and the social partners, the wider civil society, local government and the business world on the other. In this context, ideas and suggestions were submitted in both directions. Our actions and efforts do not stop with the actions of the Strategy. Actions have already been designed and implemented by our Office that contribute to the creation of a gender-friendly environment and that have a supporting role in the policies of the Governance Programme and the Strategy.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The task of establishing a culture of equality is not an easy task, as we have to face multiple and multi-layered obstacles, the most difficult being anachronistic and stereotypical perceptions.
The institution of an Equality Commissioner is increasingly recognised. We have given it visibility. We have managed through seriousness, hard work and targeted actions to create public debate, but also to strengthen our partnerships to work holistically rather than piecemeal to break down anachronistic and stereotypical perceptions.
As a result, we have developed more synergies and partnerships at multiple levels, such as with local government, semi-governmental organisations, employers' and trade union organisations, universities, women's organisations, NGOs and wider civil society, and of course with the National Women's Rights Mechanism, which has pioneered the promotion of gender equality and is an important ally towards achieving our goal.
Last year, at the same Women's Day event, here at the Presidential Palace, I mentioned indicative actions and policies that would be implemented, highlighting how the implementation of the gender mainstreaming tool will be used.
This year, I am able, with examples now, to refer to a number of actions that have been implemented and that have paved the way for the comprehensive implementation of the 2024-2026 Strategy.
We are launching a major and ambitious project concerning the implementation of the gender budget.
The aim is to integrate the gender dimension in all levels of the State budget, in order to respond in an even more targeted way to the different needs of our population on the basis of gender.
For the gender budget we requested in October 2023, through the Ministry of Finance, technical support from the Commission, which in the first phase has pre-approved our request. We expect their final response within the month.
The gender budget cannot be achieved if we do not have statistics available that relate to women and men in all areas of life. The statistical office published gender statistics in June 2023, and the publication will be updated at the end of the year and will continue to be updated in order to have a more comprehensive quantitative picture, which will help in the development of qualitative policies, measures and actions. The role of the Statistical Office in implementing actions of the Strategy and in contributing to the development of gender statistics, in cooperation with Ministries and Deputy Ministries, is particularly important.
Regarding the Gender Economy and Labour, I would like to refer to the pay gap. In 2023 Cyprus reduced the gender pay gap to 9.7% and our country ranks 7th in the EU ranking. In order to further reduce the pay gap, our Office in cooperation with the KEBE has entered into a memorandum of understanding and 10 companies have been selected, which we support with recommendations for measures and policies to promote gender equality and further reduce the pay gap. At the same time, our Office has taken action to reduce gender segregation in professions, i.e. the so-called female-dominated and male-dominated professions.
While discussing occupational segregation, I would like to refer to gendered foreign policy, which is traditionally considered a purely male-dominated area.
The process of actively integrating the gender dimension in foreign policy began, as many of you know, in 2019 with the political will of then Foreign Minister and now President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides. In 2023, the Gender Mainstreaming Unit was re-established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in addition to the Equality Officer, an Ambassador for Equality was appointed.
Out of a total of 166 diplomats, 55 are women. Ten women are Heads of Diplomatic Missions and for the first time in the history of the Republic of Cyprus a woman is the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. Four women head key directorates, departments and units of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In particular, women hold positions in the Directorate of Political Affairs, the General Secretariat for European Affairs, the Directorate of Cyprus, Turkey, British Bases and Maritime Policy and the Directorate of Etiquette. In addition, women hold general management positions in the Office of the Minister and the Director General.
In 2023, the Republic of Cyprus has contributed to international organizations related to women's empowerment or related to women and girls at a broader level.
In 2023, the Republic of Cyprus has contributed to international organizations related to women's empowerment or related to women and girls at a broader level. At the same time, through our country's development policy and at the bilateral level, targeted countries are supported through programmes related to the promotion of women's rights. The amounts of our country's total voluntary contributions to international organisations and foundations for the year 2023 related to women's empowerment amount to 53%.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Gender mainstreaming means horizontally across all sectors, including the transport sector. In collaboration with the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, the Chairperson of the Licensing Authority and the unions, we have started efforts to solve problems faced by women bus drivers. As a result of our consultations, women have become active and have shown interest in returning to the profession. Efforts are continuing to ensure that women and male drivers have safe and equal working conditions.
Contributing to efforts to instil a culture of equality, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works is proceeding with the creation of parking spaces for pregnant women at the GSP, as part of the Park and Ride.
In the same context, I could not fail to mention the excellent cooperation that has started between our Office and the Union of Cyprus Municipalities.
In the same context, I could not fail to mention the excellent cooperation that has started between our Office and the Union of Cyprus Municipalities. 29 people have been appointed by the municipalities to form the Network of Municipal Equality Officers. We supported the effort of local government to prepare an annual action plan for gender equality. The first step in the implementation of the action plan is the creation of parking spaces for pregnant women and families with baby carriages and the creation of rooms for breastfeeding in town halls.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A few words about history, the history of our country as recorded over the centuries. I have observed, for years now, that our history has been shaped through the eyes of men. This is obviously due to the position that women and men have historically held in our society and the fact that men have had access to the public sphere.
At the same time, we know that women have historically contributed in all areas, but have never had the same visibility. But there have been many studies and researches, we have women's testimonies, we know about the women's movement through narratives. All of this is documented. However, women have remained in "invisibility."
In order to give visibility to the women who naturally participated in the creation of our History, we created an online library on issues related to gender equality and the history of the women's movement in Cyprus. The aim is that this material will be collected on a platform, which will be easily accessible to all.
In the context of raising awareness in the wider society regarding the promotion of gender equality and the deconstruction of stereotypes and prejudices, our Office launched a series of campaigns entitled "Women's Stories".The first one was dedicated to STEAM professions, i.e. professions in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics
The campaign, with videos broadcast on social media and traditional media, featured female role models in these professions and aimed to promote further participation of women in these professions. The campaign was implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, the State Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and the Press and Information Office.
In this direction, namely the promotion of women in STEAM professions, one of the first acts of the Government, in cooperation with the Cyprus State Scholarships Foundation, was to award scholarships in memory of Christianna Kouta to women aged 30 and over for studies in innovation and technology fields.
In the same context and in cooperation with the Office of the Communications Commissioner and the Digital Security Authority, an online campaign was carried out to promote the employment of more women in the cybersecurity sector.
For sport, a new theme included in the new Strategy, our Office has contributed to the amendment of the Cyprus Sports Organisation Law, tabled by MP Andreas Apostolou, concerning the equal participation of women and men, as well as the equal distribution of resources to both sexes. We signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Cyprus Basketball Federation, the implementation of which started this year.
The memorandum includes targeted actions concerning, among other things, the cultivation of a culture of equality in basketball and the education of coaches, referees, children and parents on gender equality.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In all this effort we cannot overlook two parameters that play an important role in shaping culture. The first is the media and the second is the continuous dialogue and information of young people.
I would like to thank all the media for the promotion of issues related to the promotion of equality, but also for their cooperation in promoting our Office's campaigns.
In particular, we have agreed with the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK) on a series of actions. A round of discussions with RIK staff to deconstruct stereotypes has been completed. We are also supporting its efforts for systematic information and actions related to the promotion of gender equality.
At the same time, our Office renewed the memorandum of cooperation with the Advertising Control Body, as advertising cannot revive stereotypes and maintain anachronistic beliefs. Instead, what is needed in the field of advertising is social awareness and the reproduction of model women and men in their modern roles. Substantial interventions have been made in this regard by the Agency, resulting in companies cooperating and taking corrective action.
Giving a voice to youth, I visited dozens of schools and universities in all provinces, an action that I will continue, discussing with young people, youth and staff concepts related to gender equality, active citizenship, violence and consent.
At the same time, we are strengthening our efforts to increase the number of women in politics. In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and the Pedagogical Institute, we went ahead with the action "If I were a Minister" one day. The activity is for female seniors to write an essay related to a Ministry or Deputy Ministry of their choice and the winners will be shadow ministers of Ministers/Deputy Ministers for a day.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In collaboration with the former Commissioner for the Environment and current Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture and the Environment, we highlighted at a conference the link between the energy and climate crisis and the different impact it has on women and men. The change of the logo of the Common Agricultural Policy of the Ministry of Rural Development, Agriculture and the Environment was also symbolic but important. The logo now shows not only the male farmer but also the female farmer, giving her the visibility she deserves.
Women in shipping, women in blue professions have been brought under the umbrella of the Deputy Minister of Shipping. Cyprus through its nomination for the International Maritime Organisation Awards has won the first "Gender Equality Award", which will be awarded to Ms Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou.
At the same time, we started the process of mapping the blue professions and we will continue with a study on the quantitative and qualitative participation of women and men in them, with the aim of giving more women the choice to pursue a career in blue professions and to finally end the division between male-dominated and female-dominated professions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The above were some indicative actions implemented since last March.
The whole issue of substantive equality between women and men should be framed on its proper basis - it is not a competition between women and men. Women are now in all places and, as you often hear me say, women need space and a voice. We owe it to ourselves as a state to give space and a voice to 50% of our population. We continue to create conditions so that men and women can enjoy their full rights and reach their full potential, free from stereotypes and prejudices.
In the Western world, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in an interview in 2001, women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of raising the next generation.
Thank you.
(SG/EP)
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